Apex Legends Director and Respawn Co-Founder Chad Grenier Leaves Studio

Chad Grenier, a founder of Respawn Entertainment and the Game Director of Apex Legends, is leaving the game studio. He does not disclose what he will do now, and whether that will become something in the games industry at all.

Grenier says in his suicide note that Steven Ferreira will take over as director of Apex Legends, which is constantly being developed as a game as a service. Ferreira joined the Apex team shortly after its release and already served as Grenier’s right-hand man. The game still has “years of content ahead,” says the outgoing director.

Respawn Entertainment was founded in 2010 by two prominent ex-Infinity Ward developers: Jason West and Vince Zampella. It is not entirely clear who exactly was involved in the establishment, but Grenier also agrees. According to a blogger who was monitoring the case at the time, 38 developers left Infinity Ward and started at Respawn at the time of the exodus. According to a Moby Games review, Grenier has worked on many Call of Duty games as well as Titanfall, Titanfall 2 and, as mentioned, Apex Legends.

Grenier’s departure isn’t the only major shift at Respawn. It was also recently announced that prominent Respawn founder Vince Zampella will be ultimately responsible for the Battlefield franchise. EA wants that franchise to be expanded “with more experiences.” However, in addition to the Battlefield franchise, Zampella still remains responsible for Apex Legends, among others. Zampella’s appointment as head of the Battlefield franchise follows the departure of DICE director Oskar Gabrielson.

Apex Legends, as it looked at the time of its release in February 2019